Two and a half Marthas
by apple2011
Summary: In an Alley in the middle of the night, Johanna Beckett lies. Though her death may not be as absolute as everyone thinks.


Two and half Marthas

Johanna Beckett's eyes flickered open; she was in pain and a lot of it. Her eyes vacantly rolled around the scene, she was in immense pain and yet she was not dead.

"At some point you need to get up," a sharp voice requested sounding slightly irked that she was here, Johanna turned to see an older woman standing to her left. Old but attempting to hide it, at least that was the impression by her makeup and dazzling red hair which made her look slightly younger. Her slender frame however did not help this image at all but her pose did, legs apart, stood straight and tall.

"Do I know you?" Johanna asked in a breathless voice

"Not yet, well sort of. Look this gets complicated enough and honestly you need to get up," the woman sighed, not sure as to how she was going to explain this.

"I have just been stabbed, quite a lot," Johanna remarked with raised eyebrows

"Yeah I know and if not for me, well her. Or no was is then? Was I me then?, just get up!" the woman ordered dragging Johanna to her feet who winced and almost screamed with the pain. It was dulling but that didn't render it non-existent..

"What are you doing?" Johanna demanded angrily as she was dragged away from the alley

"God why a lawyer? You need to hurry up and you, I well we need to set the crime scene for when the police arrive," she replied angrily pulling Johanna out of sight into another alley.

"Wait what do you mean?" Johanna questioned suddenly. She received silence in reply

"Wait are you me?" the lawyer worked it out in the same moment. The woman dragging her gave no response

"Yes, Martha by the way and what you need to go is go back awhile, meet _someone_ and then save yourself when. Well you'll know," Martha sighed allowing Johanna to rest against the wall. Breathing deeply and waiting,

"What about..." Johanna began through deep breaths.

"Forget it, from what I know we are way in over our heads. One day everything will come out but until then leave Pulgatti alone. Sometimes we can't win," Martha answered quickly, in worried tones as she heard the sound of sirens.

"Lucky for you I have a scene all ready for them but I'm afraid you need to let go."

"Kate," Johanana began thinking of her daughter, she couldn't leave her.

"Does fine, look there comes a point when everything becomes clear. It's not too far off and trust me, Kate does just fine," Martha smiled softly as she looked down on Johanna.

"Even without a mom?" Johanna questioned and Martha nodded.

"We're watching the whole way, right from the day she was born. That's why you travel back after this and trust me the world has a few surprises left," she winked but then she saw a golden light wash over Johanna's fingertips.

"Does this one hurt? Injuries can sometimes," she began but Martha shook her head.

"Come on hun, I know you don't want to but sometimes you just have to," she replied gently and Johanna took one final breath and stretched out her arms. The golden light flooding them and trickling into the air.

"How old are you now?" Johanna couldn't resist on last comment and the moment she saw Martha's face drop into a scowl her arms were straight and she erupted in light. The pain from her wounds vanished and for a few seconds she felt like she was being washed. Head to toe and even inside and then she was out of it.

"Wow I really was young when I stepped into you," Martha remarked as she studied the much younger version of herself that was not presented to her.

"That's a few hundred years of ageing there, how have you managed it?" the other Martha asked cheekily.

"A lot of time travel, now I have a future to go to and you have a daughter to go back to," Martha answered turning on her heel and strutting towards the alley she had emerged from. The other. younger Martha shrugged and walked in the opposite direction.

Modern Day New York

Johanna Beckett walked down the streets with a spring in her step, she was alive and well something that only a few minutes ago could not be said. Somehow she had prepared to regenerate and then poof she was in the city, it was different time to what she was used to and yet she looked exactly the same. She was the second incarnation of a once famous Time Lady who had held the Dalek fleet at bay as it advanced on her home world. Thanks to her the Sky Trenches were able to be set up and a potential invasion had been stopped. Though at a cost, her ship crashed on Earth with only the barest travel capability. Well that was then, this was now and apparently this "Martha" was her third incarnation which was able to travel a lot more. The same person she was about to go and see, hopefully she could explain things or if not and the woman she had seen had been from even further in the future then she could help. However that was not the only thing on her mind, no the main thing was the face of her daughter whom she wanted to see more than anything.

She couldn't off course, it was destroy Kate who was older now. Much older and Johanna knew she had missed her daughter growing up entirely, she would never know her well. After all she was supposed to be dead and something had brought her here, that alone wasn't a good sign.

"Look Castle the theory is insane," a voice from a crime scene echoed in her mind as Johanna walked towards it. Contemplating what her options were, she could try to ensure time got back to normal or she could see her daughter. She had no idea how long she would last before she was forced to go back and regenerate but she could still take this moment to enjoy herself.

"What if people can come back from the dead," this man suggested as she walked passed, and Johanna almost turned around to gape, it was one of her favourite authors.

"People don't come back from the... Mom?" Kate Beckett demanded seeing the woman in front of her, only then did Johanna start to run.


End file.
